Chapter 73
One of the police officers said yes to a cup of coffee, while the other said no. Still, they had come all this way out, so Daisy placed a plate of biscuits between the pair, along with the drink, and two glasses of water just in case.
‘And you’re sure that this footprint couldn’t have been from earlier in the afternoon? You did say that this man, Shaun, came to the boat to invite you for a drink.’
‘But he didn’t come inside. I’m positive. Johnny was jumping up at him.’
Daisy had wanted to believe she was wrong. That the footprints had, like the police officer suggested, been placed there earlier in the day. But she could remember the moment Shaun came round. Yvonne speaking through the doorway as the dog blocked it. Besides, that snake footprint was fresh.
‘He said he was travelling by campervan, around the country, but I don’t know if that’s true,’ Daisy said, wanting to give the officers as much information as possible.
‘He was nice. He helped me when I slipped down in the marshes by Burnham-on-Crouch. I checked online, and apparently there was a spate of robberies in Burnham at the same time he was there. I don’t know if you want to check that out, too?’
‘We will explore all avenues,’ the female officer said gently as Daisy let out a long groan.
‘I wanted to see him again to thank him. I thought he was a genuinely nice guy. God, how could I have been so idiotic?’
Once again, the female officer offered a sympathetic smile, while the man tucked into the biscuits.
‘You say it’s just the paintings that he took?’ she said. ‘I assume they were valuable?’
‘He believed they were valuable.’ Daisy replied. ‘We told him before how much some had sold for at auction, even though it was a one-off. He obviously thought he could get some money from them.’
Daisy scoffed. If making money selling her paintings had been that easy, she would have sold them all already. But there was one saving grace to the situation.
‘I guess Johnny’s barking warned him we were coming back,’ Daisy said. ‘Before he’d reached the cabin and Yvonne’s things.’
Yvonne had tried to hide her tears of joy at discovering that none of her belongings were missing, but Daisy had wept over them for her. Daisy’s paintings were personal to her but had no real history, other than from the last couple of years. There were probably mugs and pictures she had of far more sentimental value, but that wasn’t the case with all the items Yvonne had brought and Daisy would never have forgiven herself had they been stolen.
‘Well, I think we’ve got all we can, but I’ll be honest, I don’t hold out much hope. Someone like that clearly knows what he’s doing. He’s probably a pro at it. It might be a good idea to keep your eye out, though, to see if any of your work pops up at galleries or auctions. You never know.’
‘Thank you, but I think he’s going to be disappointed when he goes to sell them on.’
‘Either way, we’ll keep you updated if we hear anything.’
‘Thank you.’ Daisy stood up and shook the officer’s hand. Then she reached for the male officer’s only to find it was once again reaching for the biscuits.
‘And that’s a good dog you’ve got there,’ the woman said as she stepped onto the towpath, offering Johnny a quick rub. He tipped his head to the side and didn’t even offer the slightest hint of a bark. ‘I’d make sure I keep him on board, if I were you.’
Daisy let out a little groan before looking down at him.
‘Come on, then. I guess you’re sleeping inside tonight.’
As the police officers disappeared down the towpath, Daisy and Yvonne fell into silence. It was only then Daisy realised she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast.
Her stomach growled, reinforcing this point. The half bottle of wine sat on the table. Daisy wanted to throw it out of the window into the canal, but she wouldn’t waste wine. She would save it and cook with it later in the week.
‘I’m going to do some toast; do you want some?’ she said, moving across to the kitchen.
Yvonne nodded. ‘I think that sounds like a good idea,’ she said.
Silence encapsulated them, the weight of what had transpired hanging tangibly in the air.
Daisy slipped the bread into the toaster and had moved to the fridge when Yvonne spoke.
‘Do you want to head back?’ she said gently. ‘You know, I understand. There’s no shame in it. And from what I remember, there’s a marina up here. You could put the September Rose on the back of a lorry and have her home by next week. I don’t mind paying for it if you’re worried about money.’
Daisy smiled sadly. It was the sweetest offer, and one she genuinely considered for a moment, only to dismiss it. Leaving now would feel like Shaun had taken even more from her.
‘One of the pictures was of you,’ Daisy said when she swallowed the lump in her throat. ‘I wanted to keep it as a surprise. It was a pencil portrait of you on the Thames.’
Yvonne’s eyes filled with tears.
‘Thank you. Thank you so much, Daisy. Honestly, what you’ve given me these last few days has been life-changing.’
Daisy shook her head, about to say that without Yvonne, she would never have got this far, but before she could say something, her phone rang.
Theo.